Maui Unemployment Rate Sees Slight Rise in January

According to the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, the unemployment rate for Maui County was 2.9% this past January, compared to 2.4% in January of last year. The unemployment rate for the island of Maui in January was 2.9%, compared to 2.3% during last January.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the entire state in January was 2.7%, a slight rise from 2.6% the month before. Statewide, 18,000 residents were unemployed. However, there were 2,600 more jobs during the month than from the year before. Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4% in January, compared to 3.9% in December.

Initial claims increased by 0.5% while weeks claims dropped 14.3% for unemployment benefits from a year ago. Over the month, initial claims increased 22.6% and weeks claims increased 2.6%.

These unemployment rate figures for the State of Hawaiʻi and the US are seasonally adjusted in accordance with US Bureau of Labor Statistics standards. The not seasonally adjusted rate for the state was 2.9% in January, compared to 2.3% in December.

The BLS publishes smoothed, seasonally adjusted labor force and unemployment estimates for all metropolitan areas, which includes the City and County of Honolulu and Maui County. BLS releases this data each month in the Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release. The schedule is available online.